Messages - gershonw

some state's C&f's will rule early-not on whether you fit or whether you pass the committee- but on the issue of whether past conduct will permanently AND IRREVOCABLY deny you admittance..before you go. talk to your C&f committee-the best that can happen is they agree that that alone wont deny you admittance and it will depend on how things go. the worst that can happen is they tell you they cant tell you anything.

I think work ethic (in general) is the biggest indicator of success, and as far as scores, undergrad gpa's are a better indicator then lsats of how hard you will work.

there may be several reasons that some people do well in law school and some don't but i don't think working hard is a major factor..since nearly everyone i see works hard. working smart sure..but does working hard in undergrad and getting good grades there mean you know how to work smart in law school? (no im not answering this question personally so dont ask)

i like to think that there are state and local gov or PI jobs available for T4 bottom 50% grads...but i guess you never know.

sure they pay less than your loans...but if they are fed loans and your in public service (or even if you dont commit to public service and your on the IBR graduate PLUS loans or whatever you get help etc..

real question is whether you like law or not. now you know youve got an almost 100% chance of non biglaw. so now the momney of truth about whether your in it for the money or whether you like it comes.

out of curiosity..how did you pay cash for first sem and suddenly not have money for the second sem? was it the rest of college savings or something?

is working hard helping you learn? do you like law? then maybe you should continue to work to learn it.

assuming you graduate and get employed in law..you might want to have learned as much as possible to help you accomplish your tasks..whether they be litigation, legislative drafting or whatever other work you find.

i definitely agree with a lot of the points being made here..particularly orderliness doesn't matter...

when i looked at model A answers the profs gave afterward (basically actual answers students gave with the typos corrected) they were terribly disorganized..but it didn't matter as long as they had the right info in there..

i would also agree not to spend any time on elements that obviously arn't there..points definitely do equal time on lots of tests.

my problem was i thought i could take a four hour exam on no sleep..you cant really do that and do well..i thought i had said things that when i looked later were just not on the page...half finished paragraphs really..such as...X case was different because of Y...without contrasting that to the fact pattern..thought i had done so...but it gets really muddled on no sleep and you loose track of whats in your head and whats on paper.

ive never done leews..but it certainly appears that thats what we/I need right?

don't be shy about emailing profs for advice....i just sent one to that prof who told us not to put down the rule then graded us on putting down the rule heh.

also if its exam taking technique thats our problem and not understanding or being able to apply a fact pattern...then we probably need more sleep and less stress going in..in exchange for 5 more hours studying...but i already said that didn't i?

none of my profs have so far. theres just too much to do. but hey are all happy to sit down and explian if your curious.

make sure you tell him that you know you did ok and that you understood and are not lost-b ut rather are just trying to understand what made the difference between the top of the class and the bottom..he m ay not want to answer that but it would be good to focus his attention.

profs have been doing this for years..they probley have more advice for you than anyone on this board or in a law school prep book written by some guy whos was upset that he didnt get biglaw

one thing youve left out so far is that while youve seen your grades...you may not have actually seen your exam.

i thought i had written good exams becuase i studied on a similar regimen of beginning with E and E/PLS approach in the summer practice exams outlining etc and just felt good coming out of the exams.....I had also been in the top 75% lsat for my class at a T1 etc...but when i got my poor grades i went back and looked at the exams that i had written themselves and was horrified by what i had written...just immediately saw i had left things out and made blatant errors...

not sure if it was the stress or staying up all night before each exam to study and tiring myself out...but it would seem the problem for me at least..wasn't knowing the material or knowing how to apply it..but actually getting it from my brain to the paper.

on the other hand..one of my profs tolf us not to follow IRAC...told us to forget about stating the rule and just apply it..then on the grading hseet had points for stating the rule itself (gerk)..so something like that may have happened also. (the lesson there is always state the rule even if the professor says not to i guess).